Bad Start, still have time....

[hallian]

Hi, I am a sophomore in High School and we are in the second quarter, I messed up my freshmen year having a GPA of a 2.4, my first quarter as a sophomore i didn't do so well either getting a 1 D and the rest B's and C's .....

My Question is if i get good grades the rest of my sophomore, junior, and senior year will I still be able to get into a good college and a good Premedical Program

Also how do AP classes work, I am taking College Prep Biology now can I take AP Bio and Reg Chem next year or is it too late to take AP Bio and is AP classes like electives or what....

Any advice and or help would be great. Thanks

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[Seahawk]

Getting into one school over the next wont have a difference.

Take as many AP classes and community college (college credit) classes as you can. Being in college now I look back and see how little high school mattered in the long run of professional school admissions, basically none, and I imagine how much easier I could make my schedule now if I had a bunch of credit.


To explain how AP classes work, I passed the AP psych exam in high school and got a high enough score get credit at my university. So now, I have 3 hours worth of college credit and a basic studies requirement taken care of. (I would have to take psychology or something else like it to graduate otherwise).

It can really lighten your load in college, which is where you make the grades that matter.

 

[Total180]

I agree with the above poster that high school doesn't really matter at all when it comes to admission to medical school. If you need to you can take a year or two at a community college and then go to a good university if you have to. However, with your track record with your grades I would advise against taking any community college classes while you are in high school until you have figured out an effective way to study. High school shouldn't be so difficult that you would be getting C's and D's. You will not be able to do well in college level classes if you can't even handle high school classes. Work on different ways to study or get a tutor if you need more one on one help. But definitely don't take AP classes or community college classes until you are ready to handle the coursework, especially community college classes because those will count into your gpa when you are applying to medical school and if you do bad you will have already dug yourself a hole you would need to climb out of. Just do high school right now, figure out an effective way to study, and then think about professional school when the time comes. Plus, college is supposed to be fun, why would you want to take a ton of CC classes so that you can get out sooner?

 

[Richardh]

don't stress and worry too much college grades matter. everything that you do in college matters. college experience matters. do well academic wise in college (any college, community college, junior college, etc.) and complete the extra-curriculars (volunteering, researching). as long as you do super also on the mcat, you will be fine as a pre-med applicant

 

[surub]

Don't worry about high school grades (as much...). The thing you need to worry about is getting into college. From there your grades will have a great impact on whether you get into medical school or not (your grades aren't the only thing factored into the admissions process).

So my advice is try to keep up decent grades in high school get into college and then start worrying about getting into medical school.

Good Luck.

 

[image187]

There is no such thing as a "pre-med" program in college, and grades in highschool dont matter for you. I didn't care one bit about highschool. I cut school often and actually failed some classes... and I'm in med school now because only my college grades counted for me. Just relax and worry about getting into a college. It doesn't matter which one, just some college (prefereably one you like I guess). If you still want to be a doctor when you start college, then start worrying about your grades.

AP classes make requirements in college easier for you I guess. If you want to take them and get college credit, definitely do it.

 

[BioBA]

I agree with the above, HS grades don't matter, what college you go to does not matter. What matters is that you learn what you need to learn. Definitely take bio, chem, and physics if they are offered at your school...it will give you a leg up in college.

Also agree with taking AP courses, but only for gen ed classes, not for bio/chem/physics. You need a solid college level education in those subjects.